System and method for using blueprints to provide a traceable software solution for an enterprise

• US 7,472,374 B1
• Filed: 12/09/2003
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Malhotra, Sumeet, Dillman, Frederick J., Ferrara, Edward S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kendall; Chuck O
• Application Number:
  US10/731,846
• Time in Patent Office: 1,848 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

The present invention provides a technique for the development of a software-based business solution using blueprint. A blueprint is a collection of artifacts that relate to an enterprise, and to the processes that an enterprise may perform. The blueprint may contain artifacts describing general business goals for a particular type of enterprise (e.g., a transportation company), as well as descriptions of processes typically performed by such an enterprise. The descriptions may provide sufficient detail to enable traceability between elements of the blueprint in the event of changes. The blueprint may be customized to fit a particular enterprise, and may be used as a basis to select and/or create software component, combine components into software applications, and deploy the applications on an infrastructure.

Claims

1. A method of providing a software-based solution for an enterprise, comprising:

selecting a blueprint from a plurality of blueprints, wherein each of said plurality of blueprints comprises information relating to a particular industry and provides a cross-referenced representation of business processes that occur within the enterprise, said blueprint being selected based on a first industry in which the enterprise operates;

selecting or creating functional components based on said blueprint;

providing documentation within at least one functional component, wherein the documentation specifies a relationship between at least two functional components, thereby enabling traceability between the at least two functional components;

creating the software-based solution based on the functional components; and

deploying the software-based solution in an infrastructure of the enterprise

wherein providing documentation further comprises specifying a relationship that establishes said traceability between a plurality of modeling languages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the relationship is between a first element of a first functional component and a second element.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second element is within a second functional component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the relationship is represented in software.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing documentation further comprises providing a software component that performs tracing between a first element at a first abstraction level within the blueprint to a second element at a second abstraction level within the blueprint.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising embodying the relationship in the form of electronic data.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising inferring the relationship from a second relationship that is embodied in pre-existing data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said traceability is established by way of a meta-meta model.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing documentation further comprises transforming a blueprint model between two modeling tools, two development tools, or a modeling tool and a development tool.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a requirement with a portion of a model in the blueprint other than a system requirement model.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is arranged in an artifact, and wherein providing documentation further comprises, specifying a relationship that enables an association between an unstructured artifact and a structured artifact.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein providing documentation further comprises using a standard to quantify and structure a non-structured artifact so an element within the non-structured artifact can be linked to an element of a structured artifact.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the relationship is between a plurality of unstructured data, thereby enabling traceability between the plurality of unstructured data.

14. A method of facilitating the design of a software-based solution comprising:

receiving a selection of a blueprint from a plurality of blueprints, each of said plurality of blueprints comprising first information that relates to a particular industry and providing a cross-referenced representation of business processes that occur within an enterprise, said blueprint being selected based on a first industry in which the enterprise operates;

receiving second information relating to a reason for, or goal of, the creation or selection of one or more functional components based on said blueprint;

receiving third information relating to a reason for, or goal of, a decision made in the creation of the software-based solution based on the functional components; and

providing documentation of the software-based solution based on at least one of said second information and said third information, wherein the documentation specifies a traceable relationship between at least two elements of the one or more functional components, thereby enabling traceability between the at least two elements, and wherein providing documentation further comprises specifying a relationship that establishes said traceability between a plurality of modeling languages.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing documentation further comprises using a software component to represent traceability between the at least two elements, wherein a first element is at a first abstraction level within the blueprint and a second element is at a second abstraction level within the blueprint.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising embodying the relationship in an electronic document.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising inferring the relationship from a pre-existing second relationship.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the traceability is established by way of a meta-meta model.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein providing documentation further comprises transforming a blueprint model between two modeling tools, two development tools, or a modeling tool and a development tool.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising associating a requirement to a different element within a range of models in the blueprint.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the information is arranged in an artifact, and wherein providing documentation further comprises enabling an association between an unstructured artifact and a structured artifact based on the traceable relationship.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the relationship is between a plurality of unstructured data, thereby enabling traceability between the plurality of unstructured data.

23. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions to perform acts comprising:

providing a plurality of blueprints, each of said plurality of blueprints comprising first information that relates to a particular industry and providing a cross-referenced representation of business processes that occur within an enterprise;

receiving a selection of one of said blueprints, said blueprint being selected based on a first industry in which an enterprise operates;

recording second information related to a selection of one or more functional components based on said blueprint, said second information being based on user input and said first information; and

recording documentation within one of the functional components, wherein the documentation specifies a traceable relationship between the one or more functional components, thereby enabling traceability between the one or more functional components, and wherein the documentation further specifies a relationship that establishes said traceability between a plurality of modeling languages.

24. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with information comprising:

a plurality of blueprints, each of said plurality of blueprints comprising artifacts that relate to a software-based solution to a problem in a given business and provide a cross-referenced representation of business processes that occur within the enterprise, wherein functional components are created based on the blueprint, and wherein the artifacts comprise;

a vision and operations model for said given business;

a process model for said given business;

a functional model for said given business;

an infrastructure model for said given business; and

relationship information linking a first artifact to a second artifact, and

wherein the information encoded on the computer-readable medium further comprises documentation of the software-based solution, wherein the documentation specifies a traceable relationship between at least two functional components, thereby enabling traceability between the at least two functional components, and wherein the documentation further specifies a relationship that establishes said traceability between a plurality of modeling languages.